Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues ...
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Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues that it is the relief system that played the crucial role in averting large-scale famine. The two components of a reliable famine prevention system are: an intelligent and well-planned interventionist procedure and a mechanism ensuring an early step by the authorities. For India, both were appreciably influenced first by the emergence of Famine Codes and then by the country's attainment of independence. Providing case studies, the chapter underscores the urgency of recreating the lost entitlements through relief and wage-based employment, and spotlights the roles of public pressure, cash relief, and public works.Less

Famine Prevention in India

Jean Drèze

Published in print: 1991-02-21

Though one may mistakenly attribute India's impressive recent record of famine prevention to a steady improvement in food production or to the overall evolution of the economy, this chapter argues that it is the relief system that played the crucial role in averting large-scale famine. The two components of a reliable famine prevention system are: an intelligent and well-planned interventionist procedure and a mechanism ensuring an early step by the authorities. For India, both were appreciably influenced first by the emergence of Famine Codes and then by the country's attainment of independence. Providing case studies, the chapter underscores the urgency of recreating the lost entitlements through relief and wage-based employment, and spotlights the roles of public pressure, cash relief, and public works.

The unique opportunity to explore the experience of the Great Irish Famine through a bioarchaeological analysis of the skeletal remains of its victims has provided insights not only into the how this ...
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The unique opportunity to explore the experience of the Great Irish Famine through a bioarchaeological analysis of the skeletal remains of its victims has provided insights not only into the how this period was experienced by people, but also the experience of poverty in mid-nineteenth century Ireland. The skeletal population from the Kilkenny Union Workhouse mass burials revealed insights into past lives full of hardship and suffering of disease, which culminated in death during the height of one of the worst subsistence crises in human history. The reburial of these remains in 2010 provided a last and final respectful treatment in death to these people, who originally were buried in haste in unconsecrated mass burial pits.Less

Conclusion

Jonny Geber

Published in print: 2015-11-17

The unique opportunity to explore the experience of the Great Irish Famine through a bioarchaeological analysis of the skeletal remains of its victims has provided insights not only into the how this period was experienced by people, but also the experience of poverty in mid-nineteenth century Ireland. The skeletal population from the Kilkenny Union Workhouse mass burials revealed insights into past lives full of hardship and suffering of disease, which culminated in death during the height of one of the worst subsistence crises in human history. The reburial of these remains in 2010 provided a last and final respectful treatment in death to these people, who originally were buried in haste in unconsecrated mass burial pits.

In Heat Advisory I examine climate change from a broad public health perspective, where health includes mental and social well-being in addition to climate-related changes in diseases. I begin from ...
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In Heat Advisory I examine climate change from a broad public health perspective, where health includes mental and social well-being in addition to climate-related changes in diseases. I begin from baselines defined by worldwide selected causes of death and risk factors for disease as seen partially through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to discuss how climate change will affect health. I draw primarily on a broad cross-section of the peer-reviewed literature and governmental reports. In addition to heat-related illnesses, I discuss infectious diseases including dengue, malaria, and Zika; effects on agriculture and the potential for famine; rising sea level, severe weather, and environmental refugees; anticipated effects of climate change on air quality with a focus on ozone and asthma; the influence of climate on violence, conflict, and societal disruption; and, finally economic considerations related to health. Following fundamental public health and medical practices, I discuss, primary prevention in terms of mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and secondary prevention, by adapting to climate change. Health professionals have a professional responsibility to affect political will and foster the extensive stakeholder involvement required to tackle climate change, the “greatest public health opportunity” of this century.Less

Heat Advisory : Protecting Health on a Warming Planet

Alan H. Lockwood, M.D.

Published in print: 2016-09-09

In Heat Advisory I examine climate change from a broad public health perspective, where health includes mental and social well-being in addition to climate-related changes in diseases. I begin from baselines defined by worldwide selected causes of death and risk factors for disease as seen partially through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to discuss how climate change will affect health. I draw primarily on a broad cross-section of the peer-reviewed literature and governmental reports. In addition to heat-related illnesses, I discuss infectious diseases including dengue, malaria, and Zika; effects on agriculture and the potential for famine; rising sea level, severe weather, and environmental refugees; anticipated effects of climate change on air quality with a focus on ozone and asthma; the influence of climate on violence, conflict, and societal disruption; and, finally economic considerations related to health. Following fundamental public health and medical practices, I discuss, primary prevention in terms of mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and secondary prevention, by adapting to climate change. Health professionals have a professional responsibility to affect political will and foster the extensive stakeholder involvement required to tackle climate change, the “greatest public health opportunity” of this century.

A case study of the Great Bengal Famine of 1943, which had a reported death toll of about 1.5 million. An explanation for the famine is analysed in terms of the most common approach used—food ...
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A case study of the Great Bengal Famine of 1943, which had a reported death toll of about 1.5 million. An explanation for the famine is analysed in terms of the most common approach used—food availability decline (FAD), and this is rejected for various reasons. Analyses are next made in terms of exchange entitlements and the causes of the sharp movements of these, and of the class basis of the destitution. The last part of the chapter discusses the role of theory in the failure of the official policy for tackling the famine.Less

The Great Bengal Famine

Amartya Sen

Published in print: 1983-01-20

A case study of the Great Bengal Famine of 1943, which had a reported death toll of about 1.5 million. An explanation for the famine is analysed in terms of the most common approach used—food availability decline (FAD), and this is rejected for various reasons. Analyses are next made in terms of exchange entitlements and the causes of the sharp movements of these, and of the class basis of the destitution. The last part of the chapter discusses the role of theory in the failure of the official policy for tackling the famine.

This chapter focuses on the history of emigration in Ireland during the period from 1871 to 1921. It explains that Irish emigration was triggered by the Great Famine, and by 1880 had become a ...
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This chapter focuses on the history of emigration in Ireland during the period from 1871 to 1921. It explains that Irish emigration was triggered by the Great Famine, and by 1880 had become a structural element of the post-famine social order. There were only two periods when hopes were aroused that the emigration flow might be halted: during the time of severe recession in North America in the 1870s and the wartime economic boom in Ireland during the 1910s. The chapter contains charts and tables showing statistics on Irish emigration during this period.Less

Emigration, 1871–1921

DAVID FITZPATRICK

Published in print: 2010-04-01

This chapter focuses on the history of emigration in Ireland during the period from 1871 to 1921. It explains that Irish emigration was triggered by the Great Famine, and by 1880 had become a structural element of the post-famine social order. There were only two periods when hopes were aroused that the emigration flow might be halted: during the time of severe recession in North America in the 1870s and the wartime economic boom in Ireland during the 1910s. The chapter contains charts and tables showing statistics on Irish emigration during this period.

This chapter examines the history of Irish immigration to America during the period from 1845 to 1880, the pattern of which was, during this period, influenced by four major events. These include the ...
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This chapter examines the history of Irish immigration to America during the period from 1845 to 1880, the pattern of which was, during this period, influenced by four major events. These include the Great Famine, which led the more than a million Irish to migrate to America; the reduction in the protestant element in Irish America; the triumph of Irish nationalist ideology, which created an ethos of distinctiveness and techniques of group advancement; and America's rapid industrialisation, which provided new form and concentration to the expanded Irish migration.Less

The remaking of Irish-america, 1845–80

DAVID NOEL DOYLE

Published in print: 2010-04-01

This chapter examines the history of Irish immigration to America during the period from 1845 to 1880, the pattern of which was, during this period, influenced by four major events. These include the Great Famine, which led the more than a million Irish to migrate to America; the reduction in the protestant element in Irish America; the triumph of Irish nationalist ideology, which created an ethos of distinctiveness and techniques of group advancement; and America's rapid industrialisation, which provided new form and concentration to the expanded Irish migration.

In the late 1840s, more than one million Irish men and women died of starvation and disease, and a further two million emigrated in one of the worst European sustenance crises of modern times. Yet a ...
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In the late 1840s, more than one million Irish men and women died of starvation and disease, and a further two million emigrated in one of the worst European sustenance crises of modern times. Yet a general feeling persists that the Irish Famine eluded satisfactory representation. This book examines literary texts by writers such as William Carleton, Anthony Trollope, James Clarence Mangan, John Mitchel, and Samuel Ferguson, and reveals how they interact with histories, sermons, economic treatises to construct a narrative of the most important and elusive events in Irish history. This book explores the concept of the famine as a moment of absence. It argues that the event constitutes an unspeakable moment in attempts to write the past — a point at which the great Victorian metanarratives of historical change collapse. Aligning itself with new historical literary criticism, the book examines the attempts of a wide range of 19th-century writing to ensure the memorialisation of an event which seems to resist representation.Less

Writing the Irish Famine

Christopher Morash

Published in print: 1995-09-14

In the late 1840s, more than one million Irish men and women died of starvation and disease, and a further two million emigrated in one of the worst European sustenance crises of modern times. Yet a general feeling persists that the Irish Famine eluded satisfactory representation. This book examines literary texts by writers such as William Carleton, Anthony Trollope, James Clarence Mangan, John Mitchel, and Samuel Ferguson, and reveals how they interact with histories, sermons, economic treatises to construct a narrative of the most important and elusive events in Irish history. This book explores the concept of the famine as a moment of absence. It argues that the event constitutes an unspeakable moment in attempts to write the past — a point at which the great Victorian metanarratives of historical change collapse. Aligning itself with new historical literary criticism, the book examines the attempts of a wide range of 19th-century writing to ensure the memorialisation of an event which seems to resist representation.

How was the Great Irish Famine represented in 19th-century literature? The question is less simple than it might appear, for the more we look for a stable historical reality against which to compare ...
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How was the Great Irish Famine represented in 19th-century literature? The question is less simple than it might appear, for the more we look for a stable historical reality against which to compare a literary representation, the less stable that reality becomes. The starvation, the emigration, and the disease epidemics of the late 1840s have become ‘the Famine’ because it was possible to inscribe those disparate, but interrelated events in a relatively cohesive narrative. To write the Famine is, in the first instance, to write about death on a massive, almost unimaginable scale. Indeed, the Famine's hold on our imaginations remains unaffected by the running debate over the numbers of the dead. We must tread carefully as we enter into the textual world of Famine Ireland. If we are to echo Stephen Greenblatt's ‘desire to speak with the dead’, we must learn to listen for the key words in the 19th-century writing of the Famine; we must attune ourselves to its narrative conventions, and become familiar with its allusive vocabulary.Less

Introduction

CHRISTOPHER MORASH

Published in print: 1995-09-14

How was the Great Irish Famine represented in 19th-century literature? The question is less simple than it might appear, for the more we look for a stable historical reality against which to compare a literary representation, the less stable that reality becomes. The starvation, the emigration, and the disease epidemics of the late 1840s have become ‘the Famine’ because it was possible to inscribe those disparate, but interrelated events in a relatively cohesive narrative. To write the Famine is, in the first instance, to write about death on a massive, almost unimaginable scale. Indeed, the Famine's hold on our imaginations remains unaffected by the running debate over the numbers of the dead. We must tread carefully as we enter into the textual world of Famine Ireland. If we are to echo Stephen Greenblatt's ‘desire to speak with the dead’, we must learn to listen for the key words in the 19th-century writing of the Famine; we must attune ourselves to its narrative conventions, and become familiar with its allusive vocabulary.

The sanctification of the idea of progress in the mid-19th century has a direct bearing on the writing of the Irish Famine. In Ireland the situation was very different. Famine Ireland was decidedly ...
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The sanctification of the idea of progress in the mid-19th century has a direct bearing on the writing of the Irish Famine. In Ireland the situation was very different. Famine Ireland was decidedly an ‘enemy’ of progress, and was therefore to be treated as such. The assault on the idea of progress which the Famine constituted is registered in the texts of those who considered themselves to be on the side of progress. With the disappearance of the visible signifiers of material progress — railways, sanitation, the rituals of civil society — the idea of progress itself begins to unravel and with it the progressive linearity of time and history. As these images suggest, the violence on an idea is real violence. ‘In order to advance to the city of the future’, writes John Bagnell in The Idea of Progress, ‘we must have a force and a lever. Man is the force, and the lever is the idea of Progress’.Less

Narratives of Progress

CHRISTOPHER MORASH

Published in print: 1995-09-14

The sanctification of the idea of progress in the mid-19th century has a direct bearing on the writing of the Irish Famine. In Ireland the situation was very different. Famine Ireland was decidedly an ‘enemy’ of progress, and was therefore to be treated as such. The assault on the idea of progress which the Famine constituted is registered in the texts of those who considered themselves to be on the side of progress. With the disappearance of the visible signifiers of material progress — railways, sanitation, the rituals of civil society — the idea of progress itself begins to unravel and with it the progressive linearity of time and history. As these images suggest, the violence on an idea is real violence. ‘In order to advance to the city of the future’, writes John Bagnell in The Idea of Progress, ‘we must have a force and a lever. Man is the force, and the lever is the idea of Progress’.

Far from being distracting pieces of narrative machinery which obscure the ‘real’ representation of the Irish Famine, the conventional elements of Victorian fiction give the Famine form and hence ...
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Far from being distracting pieces of narrative machinery which obscure the ‘real’ representation of the Irish Famine, the conventional elements of Victorian fiction give the Famine form and hence meaning, constructing ethical subjects in the midst of atrocity. As always, even when he is not mentioned by name, Thomas Malthus stands behind this process, ghostwriting the shape of narrative. While it might be argued that the linear form of the realist novel has a tendency to write all history as progress, three novels in particular inscribe the Famine in narratives of social improvement: Anthony Trollope's Castle Richmond; Annie Keary's Castle Daly; and Margaret Brew's The Chronicles of Castle Cloyne. It is this Malthusian metanarrative of class change, with its Darwinian overtones, which one sees acted out in the novels of Annie Keary, Margaret Brew, and Anthony Trollope in the decades after the Famine.Less

Malthus and the Famine Novel

CHRISTOPHER MORASH

Published in print: 1995-09-14

Far from being distracting pieces of narrative machinery which obscure the ‘real’ representation of the Irish Famine, the conventional elements of Victorian fiction give the Famine form and hence meaning, constructing ethical subjects in the midst of atrocity. As always, even when he is not mentioned by name, Thomas Malthus stands behind this process, ghostwriting the shape of narrative. While it might be argued that the linear form of the realist novel has a tendency to write all history as progress, three novels in particular inscribe the Famine in narratives of social improvement: Anthony Trollope's Castle Richmond; Annie Keary's Castle Daly; and Margaret Brew's The Chronicles of Castle Cloyne. It is this Malthusian metanarrative of class change, with its Darwinian overtones, which one sees acted out in the novels of Annie Keary, Margaret Brew, and Anthony Trollope in the decades after the Famine.